Lasagna and 9 Other Bolognese Reincarnations

Leftovers are great. They mean quick dinners and food often tastes better because flavours can mingle and mellow. But because the food police say that leftovers should optimally be consumed within four days (and it usually takes me longer than four days to want to eat the same thing again), sometimes a little leftover magic is called for.

The bolognese recipe from Monday made a pretty generous vat of sauce. After freezing some of it, I still have one dinner's worth of sauce left. And while serving it over piles of pasta again is fine, I decided to make a lasagna instead.

I used half whole wheat and half white pasta sheets. Although I want to make a nutritious dinner, I must admit that I'm not a fan of the brittle graininess of whole wheat pasta. So, a compromise had to be made.

Rather than buying a hunk of mozzarella cheese and having even more leftovers sitting in the fridge, I layered bechamel sauce (same recipe as in the moussaka!) with the meat sauce. I sprinkled the top with some parmesan (freshly grated, please) and it browned very nicely. I liked the milky creaminess of the bechamel against the meatiness of the bolognese, but if you prefer the stringy gooeyness of an extra cheesy lasagna, then by all means, go for it.

And if you don't want to have anything pasta-ish and you aren't a bolognese purist, then I present...

9 More Dishes to Make with Leftover Bolognese Sauce:

1. Pizza: Delish with store-bought or homemade crust
2. Calzones: Stuff a half-moon of pizza dough with it
3. Stuff bell peppers of zucchini with pasta sauce and rice
4. Serve over soft polenta (one of my favourites)
5. Serve over rice
6. "Shepherd's Pie": Top with mashed potatoes and cheese
7. Chili con carne
8. Hot sandwich: Spread over crust French bread, top with cheese and broil
9. "Enchiladas": Roll up in a tortilla, top with cheese and bake

and of course...

Lasagna Bolognese:
Serves 8

Leftover bolognese sauce (about 5 cups)
1 lb dry lasagna noodles
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Bechamel Sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook lasagna noodles until very al dente (should still be a little crunchy in the middle). Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Spread 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of the dish. Lay out 1 layer of noodles. Spread about 1 1/2 cups sauce over and pour over 1/3 of the bechamel. Repeat with two more layers of noodles and end with a layer of bechamel. Cover the top with parmesan cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

Bechamel Sauce:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Pinch ground nutmeg
2 large eggs

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk, salt, and nutmeg. Return to the heat and while whisking constantly, bring to a boil. Simmer 2 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and stir to cool. When the sauce is cool, whisk in the eggs.

Recipe adapted from Food Network Kitchens
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Ragu Bolognese with Pappardelle: Not Your Typical Chef Boyardee

Spaghetti and meat sauce is one of those classic dishes that everyone loves; it's simple and satisfying. I wanted to change things up a bit, so I used pappardelle instead of spaghetti. These flat, wide pasta ribbons complement the meaty richness of the sauce very well. I find it so mysterious how virtually all pasta is made of the same ingredients, yet different shapes somehow manage to taste different. If you can't find pappardelle, you can always slice some fresh lasagne sheets into wide strips instead.

The recipe below does look a bit intimidating; there are tons of ingredients and long cooking times. But there's a difference between a time consuming recipe and a difficult one. All you do is chop ingredients and open cans, then you can pretty much forget about it and the stove does the rest of the work. On top of this, you get to appear very domestic as there's something quite homey and impresive about a big pot bubbling on the stove for a few hours.

With all the work that the recipe calls for, I will admit that I was expecting something that tastes knock-your-sock-off incredible. Don't expect that from this recipe. It pretty much tastes like meat sauce is supposed to taste. This isn't to say that it isn't delicious, but bolognese sauce is about subtle but complex and harmonious flavours. This is why it needs to bubble on the stove for so long. The fragrance of the herbs, vegetables and wine combine with the meatiness of the pancetta, the sharpness of the tomatoes, and the butteriness of the cream. The recipe makes a very nicely balanced sauce which tastes about a thousand times better than anything out of a can. And with some of the leftovers parked in the freezer, future pasta dinners are almost just as easy.

Fun Fact: Unlike Aunt Jemima and Betty Crocker, Chef Boyardee is a real person (Mr. Ettore Boiardi)...

Spaghetti Bolognese

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 ounces bacon or pancetta, diced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 3/4 cup diced carrots
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt (add at the end...bacon is already quite salty)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pound ground beef or ground veal
• 1/2 pound pork sausage, removed from the casings, or ground pork (I used ground turkey instead)
  
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes and their juice
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup beef or chicken stock or broth
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I omitted this; the sauce is plenty rich)
  
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until browned and the fat is rendered, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the beef and sausages, and cook, stirring, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan and remove any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the pan, and until half of the liquid is evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and their juices, the tomato sauce, beef broth, and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the sauce is thickened and flavorful, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the cream, butter, and parsley, stir well, and simmer for 2 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and adjust the seasoning, to taste. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and return the water to a low boil. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking, until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Add the pasta to the sauce, tossing to coat. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese and toss to blend. Divide among pasta bowls and serve with the cheese passed tableside. (Alternatively, toss only the desired portion of pasta with a bit of the sauce at a time in a serving bowl, reserving the remainder for another meal.)

Source: Food Network and Emeril Live
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